


Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot

by sonnets_and_snowdrops



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: :))), But with a happy ending, Christmas, College, Light Angst, M/M, They're just bad at feelings, sweet angsty boys, they both have such good hearts tho, this is a christmas fic after all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 22:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17150138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonnets_and_snowdrops/pseuds/sonnets_and_snowdrops
Summary: A high-spirited Bokuto invites first-year college student Tsukishima Kei - and the rest of Tokai University's volleyball team, which includes one Kuroo Tetsurō - to a lively Christmas party.Tsukishima has never been to a party.Also, Tsukishima hasn't seen Kuroo in years.And Kuroo? He hasn't acknowledged the way he feels about Tsukishima in - well. Probably, ever.***A piece written as part of theHaikyuu Secret Santa 2018collection. My lovely recipient,greendoodle, said that they liked pieces inspired by music - and so, this little story pulls pretty heavily from a lesser-known verse of the traditional English folk song "Auld Lang Syne." (Please, see the fic itself to read the lyrics - and, hopefully, to see what I mean ^_^)***Happy reading, and happy holidays!





	Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greendoodle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greendoodle/gifts).



_Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,_

_and never thought upon;_

_The flames of Love extinguished,_

_and fully past and gone:_

_Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,_

_that loving Breast of thine;_

_That thou canst never once reflect_

_On old long syne._

 

_On old long syne my Jo,_

_On old long syne,_

_That thou canst never once reflect,_

_On old long syne._

 

     -- James Watson, 1711

 

***

 

**16:42**

[txt]: _heyyyy four-eyes, you got plans Friday?_

**16:48**

[txt]: _Yes._

[txt]: _:(_

[txt]: _would you be up for changing them?_

**16:53**

[txt]: _No_.

[txt]: _welllll if you want there’s a christmas party at my place_

[txt]: _the whole team is coming jsyk_

[txt]: _the_

[txt]: _whole_

[txt]: _team_

[txt]: _:D_

[txt]: _and we both know how bad you are at refusing my invitations_

**17:04**

[txt]: _i meeeean suit yourself_

[txt]: _but if you change your mind, my door’s always open_

[txt]: _so to speak lol, you have to knock first_

**17:05**

[txt]: _9pm until late, here’s my address_

[txt]: _hope to see you there~_

 

***

 

Kei shivered, tugged his jacket tighter around his shoulders, and squinted at his phone to make sure that, _yes,_ he was going the right way in this massive mess of an urban skyscraper-scape.

A car horn blared off to his right. _Tch. Tokyo._ He scowled. He raised his hand to the tiny volume button on his headphones and clicked it, trying to drown the sounds of the city even deeper. He’d gotten used to plenty of new things in these past few months, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to the noise.

An automated voice cut into the music, telling Kei to turn right at the upcoming intersection. Kei sighed, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and obeyed the voice’s instructions. When he rounded the corner, he found himself on yet another unfamiliar street, lined with trendy shops and fashionable pop-up restaurants and cafes, nearly all of them sporting bright, neon signs out front.

Kei’s scowl deepened. The noise here was, if possible, even worse.

He upped the volume again, and he kept on walking.

He wasn’t even sure why he’d decided to come. He didn’t like parties. He didn’t like crowds. He liked quiet, and he liked his room, and he liked getting a good night’s sleep as often as his schedule would allow. Even though his first term at college was almost over, Kei had yet to attend one of the raucous get-togethers that university students were known for. It didn’t interest him. It was stupid. It wasn’t worth his time.

The voice in his headphones told him he’d reached his destination. He stood outside the apartment labeled _11_ – neither a good omen nor a bad omen the way Kei saw it; a meaningless coincidence, and nothing more – and squared it up as best he could.

 _Why the hell,_ he asked himself, _am I here?_

 

***

 

**20:17**

[txt]: _heyyyyy_

[txt]: _you’re still planning on coming friday right_

[txt]: _?_

**20:19**

[txt]: _yeeeessss owl-face_

[txt]: _i already told you i’d be there_

[txt]: _didn’t you believe me?_

[txt]: _i was just checking~_

[txt]: _ouch~_

[txt]: _you might be dumb as rocks, but that still hurts my poor heart :(_

**20:20**

[txt]: _;)_

[txt]: _ugh_

[txt]: _can you not_

[txt]: _;)_

[txt]: _;)))))))_

[txt]: _;)))))))))))))_

[txt]: _;)))))))))))))))))))))))))_

[txt]: _srsly stop it_

**20:21**

[txt]: _what does that even mean_

[txt]: _;)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))_

[txt]: _ok bye_

[txt]: _i’m done with this lol_

[txt]: _see you at practice bird-brain_

 

***

 

Despite Bokuto’s concerns – which were _totally_ unfounded, and always had been – Kuroo had always planned on coming to his teammate’s Christmas party.

For one thing, Bokuto had made it pretty clear that he wanted the whole of Tokai University’s volleyball team there, and that included Kuroo.

And for another thing, Kuroo liked parties.

Kuroo liked parties. He liked crowds. He liked noise, and he liked dancing, and he liked toppling into bed during the small hours of the morning, feet aching and heart pounding and head a million miles in the air. He’d been a university student for a solid two years now, but somehow, the parties never got old. He’d cultivated an uncanny aptitude for working dark rooms jam-packed with drunk people, and it had yielded both one-off nights of fun and long-term friends on more than one occasion.

Kuroo sipped at his beer, and he smirked to himself.

If he had been charismatic in high school, he was a goddamn dynamo here.

Kuroo had come out tonight looking for some light-hearted fun, some holiday cheer, and maybe a few opportunities to seal his place as his team’s choice for Captain next year. He was in good standing as it was – better standing than Bokuto, who was filled to the brim with charm and good instincts, and who was Tokai University’s undisputed ace, but who had yet to leave behind the childishness that had been his trademark in high school – but the way Kuroo saw it, it never hurt to pound a few more nails into that particular coffin. If Kuroo played his cards right, he was on track to go pro after he graduated. Heading up one of the top-tier teams in Tokyo – and, for that matter, in all of Japan – would only increase his chances.

Kuroo downed the last of his beer, sighed in appreciation, rolled his shoulders and his neck, and decided to take another quick spin through the crowd. A few more people had showed up since Kuroo’s last round of schmoozing, and there were new greetings to be made and new compliments to be exchanged.

Dimly, he registered a knock at the door – someone had decided to show up painfully late, evidently. He shrugged. Bokuto’s parties were rarely anyone’s last stop, but he supposed every rule had exceptions.

 

***

 

Kei’s sense of disenchantment tripled in size when Bokuto opened the door.

Or, more accurately – when Bokuto and Akaashi, sporting a ridiculously wide, obnoxiously patterned Christmas sweater with two neck holes and only two arms, opened the door together.

“You made it!” exclaimed a wide-eyed Bokuto through a big, bright smile. “Didn’t I tell you, Keiji? I _told_ you he’d come!”

Akaashi, expression flat and unamused, favored Kei with a pitying glance. “He told me he thought you’d stay home.”

“Did _not!”_

“You absolutely did.”

“Maybe at _first,_ but – ”

“The longer I stand here,” Kei cut in, “the more I feel inclined to turn around and go home. If _that_ makes a difference.”

Bokuto’s jaw dropped. “Well, that won’t cut it, four-eyes! You made the trek – might as well stay for a drink or two! Or,” he added with a sly wink, “a dance. You never know who might turn up at a little shindig like this.”

Kei shook his head. “I’ll start with that drink,” he told Bokuto. “I’ve never been much of a dancer.”

 

***

 

**22:43**

[txt]: _heyyyyyy question_

[txt]: _are you still hooking up with that swimmer_

**22:44**

[txt]: _that is all kinds of not your business_

[txt]: _okayyyyyy are you exclusive at least_

[txt]: _srsly what does that matter to you_

[txt]: _oh god are you hitting on me_

[txt]: _if so please stop_

[txt]: _right now_

[txt]: _:,DDDDD_

**22:45**

[txt]: _omg nooooooo_

[txt]: _you’re so not my type_

[txt]: _and i’m a kept man anyway haha_

[txt]: _nahhhhh just_

[txt]: _c u r i o u s_

[txt]: _ok i’m going to bed_

**22:46**

[txt]: _never ask me about my love life again mkay?_

[txt]: _:(_

[txt]: _so mean~_

[txt]: _good night dumbass_

 

***

 

By the time the next half hour had passed, Kuroo was three shots deeper and ten friends richer. _And I’m not even drunk yet,_ he thought to himself, smugly satisfied.

He raised another shot glass in the air, made eye contact with the two basketball players opposite him, grinned, and drained it.

“… _well-l-l,”_ he said, depositing his shot glass face-down on the table in front of him and inclining his head towards the basketball players, “this has been fun, but I’ve gotta get a move on. Catch ya later, dudes!” He turned around about halfway – and then right away, he turned back, as if he’d just remembered something. “Aw, shit,” he said. “I got your Insta, right?”

One player shook his head, and reached for the phone in his back pocket. _Jackpot,_ Kuroo thought. “Here,” he said, grabbing the guy’s phone and punching his handle into the search bar. “If you find me… _there,_ yeah. That’s me. I promise, I’ll follow you back when I can connect to wifi again…”

“Yo,” interjected the second basketball player. “Who’s that guy? Do we know him?”

The first basketball player didn’t even glance up from his phone. “Huh?” he mumbled, too busy scrolling through Kuroo’s page to care very much about some unknown newcomer.

“That guy,” the second basketball player said, nudging his teammate in the ribs. “Does he go here?”

The first player only shrugged. _“Dude,”_ the second player said. “Freakin’ _look,_ will ya?”

At that, the first basketball player managed to pry his eyes upwards to stare across the crowded room. “Damn,” he said, after a long moment. “He’s hella tall.”

“Right?”

“Hell yeah.”

“He’s built, too.”

“I’ll say.”

“We should see if he knows his way around a basketball court,” the first player said. “Recruit him for next semester, maybe.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.”

Kuroo, for his part, listened without much interest to this back and forth. The first basketball player had yet to tap the _follow_ button, and Kuroo wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to pick up one more fan.

But, much to his surprise, the second player decided to rope Kuroo into the conversation, too. “You don’t know him, do you, Kuroo-kun?”

“Who?” Kuroo asked, looking over his shoulder and halfheartedly following the basketball players’ matching, awed gazes.

“The tall guy in the corner,” the second player continued. “Blond hair, glasses. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before.”

The room started spinning.

 _Fuck me,_ thought Kuroo.

Maybe he was a little bit drunk after all.

 

***

 

**11:30**

[txt]: _Hello. I know it’s been a long time since last we spoke, but I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to attend college in Tokyo._ _I’ve been offered a place at the Institute of Economic Research at Chuo University, and while I don’t intend to play professionally after graduation, they’ve offered me a considerable scholarship if I agree to play on their volleyball team throughout the duration of my study._

**11:33**

[txt]: _I sent in my acceptance letter yesterday. My classes start in April. I assume the same is true for you?_

**11:37**

[txt]: _I understand that our schools are about an hour apart by public transport – but that’s closer than we are now. So, if you ever want to get together for coffee, please don’t hesitate to reach out._

**12:04**

[txt]: _cool ;)_

 

***

 

Kei should have known that coming here was a bad idea.

Already, he disliked parties. He disliked parties even _more_ when he knew absolutely nobody there. Kei’s idea of a good time so rarely involved chatting with other people – but making small talk with people he’d never met before, and would likely never see again?

It was enough to set every, last nerve in his body on edge.

And so, Kei stood alone in the corner, sipping on beer after beer after beer, as if that would make things better. It was something to _do,_ at any rate. It wasn’t fun – not in the slightest – but it was _something._

In absolute fairness, Kei had seen a few familiar faces shortly after arriving. Bokuto and Akaashi, stuck together like red-and-green-polyester-encased glue thanks to that ludicrous sweater, had pointed Kei in the direction of a few volleyball players with whom Kei had attended training camps and competed in tournaments. Kei had followed them to the makeshift bar, which was a series of twelve-pack boxes, plastic bottles of liquor, and mixers lined up on a shoddy, shaky-looking table. They’d traded pleasantries on the way, but Kei had never really been the mix-and-mingle type, especially not in high school, and he barely considered these players acquaintances, let alone _friends,_ let alone people worth his time and attention at a grungy college party. He quickly ran out of both things to talk about and patience for idle chatter – and when he did, he made no bones about excusing himself and retreating to his corner.

The sole benefit of setting up solitary shop here, Kei thought glumly, was the vantage point it provided him. He’d always been more comfortable as an observer than as a participant on the court, anyway; naturally, it followed that that sensibility extended to parties.

What Kei saw underwhelmed him, and reminded him why he never attended parties in the first place. Tipsy boys and tipsy girls swayed to hip-hop music Kei had never heard before. People laughed, cheered, and talked to loudly. A rowdy group gathered not far from the door was playing a drinking game, and, as if on cue, all of them would thrust their fists in the air each time someone achieved victory.

It was unnecessary, and it was annoying. It was excruciatingly mundane.

And no amount of alcohol, Kei was quite sure sure, could ever convince him otherwise.

He’d done his part, he decided. He’d spent more than an hour at this godforsaken get-together. He would finish his beer, fetch his coat, bid his farewells to Bokuto and Akaashi, and make the long, thankless journey home.

 

***

 

Kuroo slipped in and among the partygoers, making the best beeline he could for the corner where Kei was standing. He swayed a little on his feet, and he bumped into one or two people on the way - which made sense, Kuroo supposed, because his eyes were completely and totally riveted on Kei. He watched as Kei surveyed the room with what looked like bored dissatisfaction, and as he took sip after long, pleasureless sip from the can of beer in his hand. He watched as Kei brought the can to his lips again, tipped his head back, and downed the last of it, and then crushed the can in his hand. He watched as Kei’s shoulders rose and fell in a great, grand sigh, and then as Kei, appearing to come to a decision, pushed off from the wall and disappeared into the crowd.

Kuroo froze.

“Shit,” he said aloud.

“What’s wrong, Tekkun?”

Kuroo could hear the smile in the voice coming from behind him. He drew a deep breath, pulled himself together, and then turned around.

“You,” Kuroo said, pointing at Bokuto - and, thanks to the way they were stuck together, at Akaashi, too. “You knew he was gonna be here. Didn’t you?”

Bokuto grinned. “You’re welcome.”

“I don’t seem to remember saying _thank you,_ owl-face.”

“There’s still time if you wanna toss it in now. I won’t take offense.”

Kuroo ground his teeth together. It hurt, and the sound it made was too loud inside his head, but he needed _something_ to take his mind off of his sudden desire to punch Bokuto right in his goofy, dumb face.

 

***

 

Finding Bokuto and Akaashi in the crowd was the easy part - they were hard to miss tonight, thanks to that inane sweater.

Approaching them to say good-bye, Kei understood instantly, was going to be tricky.

He’d known that Tetsurō would be here. He played on the volleyball team at Tokai, and Bokuto’s message had made it clear that the entire team would be coming to the party. He knew, also, that Tetsurō wasn’t the type to skip out on a good time - between his Insta stories and the occasional late-night, misspelled Tweet, Kei had a pretty good idea of what Kuroo’s social life looked like on the weekends.

The way Kei saw it, he had two options.

He could march over to Bokuto and Akaashi, thank them for the invitation, and then turn tail and leave before Kuroo had a chance to get a word in edgewise.

Or, he could forgo proper etiquette and disappear from the party now, just like this, and apologize via text to the hosts tomorrow morning.

He stared across the crowded room. He chewed his lip. He thought, _hard._

A long, long minute passed.

Kei turned around, and made for the door.

 

***

 

**3:02**

[txt]: _you didn’t say hi_

[txt]: _i mean tbf i didn’t either_

[txt]: _how dumb will i sound if i say i avtuall y missed you_

[txt]: _*actual_

[txt]: _*actually_

[txt]: _fuck_

 

_***_

 

**12:36**

[txt]: _...soooooo that was a drunk text_

[txt]: _if you couldn’t tell lol_

[txt]: _i’m sorry about that_

**14:07**

[txt]: _Was it true?_

**14:11**

[txt]: _..._

[txt]: _....._

[txt]: _......._

[txt]: _.........yeah._

 

***

 

The New Year came and went. Tokyo saw snow, but not very much. Kei returned home to spend the holiday with his family, but as holidays often do, the time passed quickly, and Kei soon found himself back in the bustling city, grinding away at his classes and suffering through the urban soundscape.

He had, however, found something new to like about Tokyo.

He was seated in a modest, little cafe in Chōfu City, sipping on hot chocolate and tapping away at a second draft of an essay for a sleeper class called Age of Globalization - which, as far as Kei could tell, was just a fancy, dressed-up name for second-tier macroeconomics. He’d been here for about an hour, and he was pleased with the progress he’d made so far.

Pleased enough, he figured, that it warranted a break.

Kei pushed his headphones down so that they hung around his neck and peered across the table over the screen of his laptop.

“I’m going to have a slice of cake,” he said. “Want anything?”

Tetsurō glanced up from the sociology textbook he was abusing with a pink highlighter. “I could go for another espresso.”

Kei frowned. “Two espressos in an hour isn’t good for you, you know.”

Tetsurō smirked. “Neither is cake.”

Kei’s eyebrows shot up; he couldn’t really argue with that. “Touche,” he said. He hauled himself to his feet and started to head for the register - but he spared the time to shoot Tetsurō a quick, backwards glance.

“Don’t take too long,” Tetsurō said, his voice an enticing sing-song. “We both know what happens when we spend too much time apart.”

Kei tried to roll his eyes - but it was a meager attempt at best, because he couldn’t quite keep the smile from his face.

“I don’t think,” he said over his shoulder, “that’s a mistake we’ll make again.”

 

***

 

**15:44**

[txt]: _say it_

[txt]: _sayyyyyyy itttttttttt_

[txt]: _omg what now_

[txt]: _i’m a miracle worker_

[txt]: _i’m the orchestrator of your happiness_

[txt]: _you’re welcomeeeeeee tekkun :D_

[txt]: _ughhhhhhh_

[txt]: _in all seriousness how are things tho_

[txt]: _?_

[txt]: _i mean_

[txt]: _good_

[txt]: _things are actually uh_

[txt]: _good_

[txt]: _:D_

[txt]: _goddammit owl-for-brains_

[txt]: _maybe i do owe you one_

**Author's Note:**

> ...real quick! The formatting of the text messages looked uhhhhhh,,,, pretty rad in docs, if I do say so myself. AO3's formatting didn't let me do exactly what I wanted - but I tried my best, and I do hope it's all clear!  
> Thanks again for reading, friends! And again, happy holidays to you and yours!


End file.
